Being Kind to Unkind People

A few days ago I woke up and popped open my email. There it sat, a nasty email full of hate. Someone had anonymously commented on one of the posts I had written. Funny timing since I had just written an article about the hateful behavior of people online. (See that post here.) They didn’t take the time to critique my writing, or the material in the post, but rather my character. Funny how someone can comment on your character while sending an email full of bitterness and disrespect.

There I sat, reading an email that literally started with “u suck”. Not exactly the message you want to wake up to. Not only is it disappointing to read, but the teacher in me was appalled by all of the spelling and grammar errors. The least you can do when insulting someone is make it grammatically correct, right? 

So, you sit there and read the message. You take it in. You try to comprehend all of the hate, meanness and disrespect. Then, you have a choice. What do you do? What happens next? The answer is simple. You rise above. You read it for what it is, a message meant to hurt. A message meant to diminish your happiness and joy. You do not allow this message to steal your joy. You do not allow hate to win. After all, Will Smith said it best, “Hate in your heart will consume you too.”

You can’t meet hate with hate. You meet hate with kindness. Kindness always wins. Afterall, hate and anger usually come from a place that have nothing to do with you, and everything to do with the other person. Take this opportunity to rise above and become inspired by this harsh opportunity. So, here it is, the inspiration that came from someone’s negative and spiteful comment. Enjoy.

A Letter to the Kind People of the World, Dealing with Unkind People:

Keep being you. You are kind. You are genuine and you are joyful. Sometimes the world envies happy people. Unkind people often make it their mission to destroy joy, to destroy happiness, and to destroy the success of others. The thing is, nothing can steal your joy, unless you allow it.

I read a quote once that said: “If you fuel your journey on the opinions of others, you are going to run out of gas!” Take the hate for what it is worth: nothing. Be proud of where you are! If others don’t appreciate your journey and accomplishments, it doesn’t matter! You will still be standing there smiling and just as successful as you were before.

Keep meeting hostility with kindness, even when it is hard. Lead with grace, compassion and care. At the end of the day, you want to be proud of the way you handled a tough situation. You want to be proud of the person you are when faced with darkness.

Keep shining, friend. Don’t let meanness dull your sparkle.

xox, Chels